About

Capybaras are giant cavy rodents native to South America and the largest living rodents in existence. Capybaras inhabit savannas and dense forests and live near bodies of water. Thanks to their appearance and docile behavior, capybaras had niche popularity in memes starting in 2013, achieving major popularity in meme culture in 2021.

Origin

Capybara (sp. Carpincho) is a giant cavy rodent native to South America and the largest living rodent on Earth. Capybaras are herbivore semiaquatic animals and are relatives of the guinea pig. Capybaras are docile and usually allow humans to pet and feed them. The animal has adapted to urbanization in South America and can be found in zoos and parks.

The popularization of capybaras online started with the creation of capybara-themed photography blog Capybara.eek.jp on February 1st, 2007, by Japanese photographer Katsuhito Watanabe.^[1][2]

In 2006 I encountered a capybara and was so charmed with it that I became a capybara photographer.
My life revolves around capybaras: I go to zoos where capybaras live over 100 days a year and take over 100,000 pictures of capybaras a year.

On March 16th, 2009, Watanabe launched YouTube^[3] channel カピバラ写真家渡辺克仁 (example videos shown below), also launching Twitter^[4] account @capybarahp in May 2012 and Facebook^[5] page カピバラ写真家〇渡辺克仁 in September 2012, posting photographs, videos and other capybara-themed content. As of September 2021, the Twitter account accumulated over 19,000 followers, while the Facebook page attracted over 144,000 followers.

In the west, the popularization of capybaras online started in June 2013 after on June 5th gimmick Tumblr^[6][10] and Twitter account Animals Sitting on Capybaras was launched (first post^[7] shown below, left), with the account posting photographs of various animals sitting atop capybaras. On June 18th, the account made^[8] its first post to gain over 500 likes and reblogs (shown below, center), posting^[9] the first image to go viral on Tumblr and gain over 30,100 likes and reblogs on September 11th that year (shown below, right).

Spread

2013 – 2017

Apart from the Tumblr account, until late 2018 capybaras did not see major popularity online. On March 27th, 2012, subreddit /r/capybara^[23] was created, with users posting photographs and videos of the animal. Also in that period, several gimmick pages dedicated to capybaras were created on Russian social network VK, including music page Capybaras and Progressive Rock,^[11][12] created in December 2012 and posting progressive rock songs together with images of capybaras, and meme page Capybaras and Chernomyrdin's Quotes,^[13][14] created in May 2016 and posting images of capybaras paired with quotes by former Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.

On November 20th, 2016, episode three "Jungles" of Planet Earth II documentary was broadcast on the BBC.^[15] In the episode, a jaguar is shown carrying a caiman crocodilian by the head before camera cutting to a shot of a shocked-looking capybara standing on the river bank. The reaction, which became known as Shocked Capybara, went viral on social media, primarily on Twitter,^[16][17] with the GIF of the capybara being used as a reaction GIF (video shown below). On December 13th, Redditor^[18] gothicmaster reposted the clip to /r/gifs, where it gained over 8,500 upvotes in five years.

#planetearth2 "Mother of god!" #capybara pic.twitter.com/5CQW0OFEuF

— Jodie Eastwood (@Jodie_Eastwood) November 20, 2016

On August 24th, 2017, Twitter^[19] user @justkelly_ok made the earliest viral tweet about capybaras, posting several photographs previously posted by Animals Sitting on Capybaras Tumblr gimmick account and writing, "When I'm sad, I like to remember how capybaras are chill as hell pals with the rest of the animal kingdom." The tweet received over 20,900 retweets and 51,000 likes in four years (shown below, left), with YouTube^[20] channel Did You Know Animals? posting a video "Why Do Animals Like Capybaras So Much?" on October 6th that year. The video received over 2 million views in four years (shown below, right).

2018 – Present

The animal achieved another wave of online attention after on December 21st, 2018, Katsuhito Watanabe tweeted^[21] a video of several capybaras taking a yuzu bath which received over 15,200 retweets and 32,100 likes prior to being deleted (YouTube^[22] reupload shown below, left). This video, as well as similar videos of capybaras taking a yuzu bath made in other years , were actively referenced in posts and memes in the following years. A November 2018 YouTube^[24] video in which capybara has a yuzu on its head gained particular popularity (shown below, right).

Prior to early 2020, several viral posts about capybaras were made by users on Twitter. For example, on July 2nd, 2019, Twitter^[25] user @RobertMaguire_ posted a video of a cat "massaging" a capybara that received over 440,000 views, 6,900 retweets and 23,100 likes in two years (shown below). On December 10th, 2019, Twitter^[26] user @w0a0i0f made a tweet referencing the yuzu bath videos which received over 8,300 retweets and 59,900 likes in two years.

Everything's terrible so here's a cat massaging a capybara pic.twitter.com/JNGvDyzt49

— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) July 3, 2019

On January 6th, 2020, Twitter^[27] user @virtualfairies tweeted a thumbnail of the November 2018 yuzu bath video in which a capybara has a yuzu on its head, with the tweet gaining over 34,400 retweets and 122,200 likes in two years.

In February 2020, gimmick Twitter^[28] account @CAPYBARA_MAN was created, with the account reposting images and videos of capybaras. On July 5th, the account posted its first viral tweet,^[29] a photograph of several capybaras sitting several feet apart captioned "social distancing." The tweet received over 56,100 retweets and 240,600 likes in one year (shown below, left). In the following months, the account made multiple capybara posts that went viral; for example, its September 3nd post^[30] received over 40,300 retweets and 212,300 likes (shown below, center). In 2020 and 2021, the account played a significant role in popularization of capybaras on Twitter, accumulating over 182,000 followers as of September 2021.

On September 10th, 2020, YouTube^[31] user EGA NATION reposted a meme combining a 2014 video of a capybara riding in the passenger seat of a car with the viral hit "After Party" by Don Toliver, better known as "Ok I Pull Up" (video shown below, left). The reupload received over 690,000 views on YouTube in one year and played a major role in spawning the "Ok I Pull Up" trend, which is closely associated with capybaras (viral June 2021 example^[32] shown below, right).

In 2021, capybaras achieved major popularity online, with users submitting fan art of the animals and using images of capybaras in various memes, usually of wholesome type.

Capybaras Invade an Argentinian Suburb

In mid-August 2021, media^[33] reported that hordes of capybaras have taken up residence at Nordelta, Argentinas most well-known gated community north of Buenos Aires built on the wetlands of the Paraná. The news inspired many social media users both in Argentina and globally to portray the capybaras as symbols of communism and class struggle against the rich (example tweet^[34] shown below).

Fun fact, capybaras have become a symbol of revolution and anti capitalism in Buenos Aires because the affluent neighborhood they’ve been “invading” was a recent development from 2000 that destroyed their native wetlands so they’re basically reclaiming their land. https://t.co/7WZkqtQAyO

— socialist gay jedi 🌈👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 (@lukamaru) September 3, 2021

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References